Burger King rebuilding Chattanooga-area empire

Construction continues on renovating the Burger King on Ringgold Road in East Ridge.

Photo by
Dan Henry/Times Free Press.

• Name: Burger King

• Location: 6404 Ringgold Road, off I-75 at exit 1

• Status: Workers are giving the East Ridge Burger King a face lift as part of the chain's new image program. Contractors will gut both the interior and exterior as part of the project. Owners plan to perform the renovation on six of their 18 East Tennessee restaurants. "Basically, it'll look like a new store," said Carey Dollar, project manager.

• Background: Burger King has taken steps to reinvent itself in a marketing push that included leaving the company's King character behind and focusing on the food's freshness and health benefits, officials have said. As part of that effort, the new restaurant will be more upscale and high-tech, with higher-quality surfaces.

• Price: $200,000 to $300,000 per restaurant, according to co-owner Elliot Davenport

• Features: Workers are installing new flooring, ceilings, furniture and bathrooms, Dollar said. The outside wall is being replaced, and the sidewalks will be made handicap- accessible. Workers also are updating the signs, equipment and speakers to make the drive-through more user-friendly, and adding new furniture and a new look inside. Flat-panel monitors will replace old-fashioned menu boards. Though the interior walls are remaining in place, new kitchen equipment will allow employees to make food more quickly and to get it to customers in a more timely manner.